Boonen back from injury for Belgium

Quick Step Innergetic's Tom Boonen will return to competition later this week for the Tour of Belgium, having recovered from an injury which prevented the Belgian from contesting Spain's Volta a Catalunya. Earlier in May the rider swerved to avoid a car at a road junction while training and ended up hitting his right leg against a road sign, fracturing his big toe and bruising the area around his shin.

"Thankfully my broken toe isn't causing me too many problems and I even managed to do some training a few days after the injury," said Boonen. "But my shin and knee areas are still quite painful meaning I can't really do any intense training. I'm behind with my training but I think it is time to start racing again getting myself back into the rhythm of things in preparation for the Tour de France."

Due to his injuries, Boonen says he'd be happy to ride for a teammate 'if the occasion arises' when he leads the squad at the Tour of Belgium, where he took victory in 2005.

"Gaining a win won't be my main objective as I'll only be able to tell at what point my condition is during the race," he explained. "We have a very strong team; if the occasion arises I'll be more than happy to put myself at my team-mate's disposal as they have so many times helped me gain my victories."

Quick Step Innergetic's Tour of Belgium roster: Tom Boonen, Wilfried Cretskens, Steven De Jongh, Kevin Hulsmans, Sebastien Rosseler, Gert Steegmans, Bram Tankink, Wouter Weylandt
Sporting Director: Wilfried Peeters